I will triumph!

The plain jane socks decided to conduct a mutiny while I was in Buffalo, NY attending a diffraction conference. Luckily I have a stronger constitution. After a brief stint in the brig, they were frogged back to the end of the toe increases and re-knit. I was only up to the heel turn, so technically I have only had to frog 1.5 socks worth of this ungrateful yarn. While it was doing hard time, I briefly toyed with the idea of sending them to another ship's brig. They meekly apologized, however, and now they seem to be behaving. Let this be a lesson to you- mutinous yarn can be redeemed.

In other news: the Captain and I have just finished Stage I of farm preparations. We are the proud renters of a nice plot of 'farm land'. We mowed down a 20'-40' swath of 6' tall prarie grass, raked up the leavings, and tried to uproot as many large plants as possible. The hands, calves, and lower back hurts, the Captain has come down with something, and we still have to till before the frist snow. Wish us luck.

My dress form is a strumpet

A while ago I mentioned making a dress form and the ensuing panic attack and other tomfoolery involved. Well I took the strumpet out today to see if I could get her to model my in-progress tree jacket. Did she behave? Noooo... She decided that putting her arms through my sweater was too plebian (which is ironic since being a strumpet sort of qualifies as below pleb status, but I digress). To that I said: Off with her arms. The Captain took the dremel to her and now she is arm-free. Take that strumpet!
Anyways, now that she is behaving, I tried the sweater on her and -voila! C'est magnifique.
The join of the body under the arms was a bit too high. Instead of continuing with the increases, as the pattern suggests, I simply added a few rows of garter. The fit was nice, just not long enough. I also ended up switching needles once I got back to the YO portion. I like my sweaters to be fitted. I understand that the designer wanted this to be loose and fun, so I did a compromise. Down one needle size for me, no additional shaping to please them. I am still on track to finish this by Thanksgiving, lets see if I can make it.

I love my dog

Charlie is such a good little puppy... well...er...largeish puppy, but I do also really like my new pink kitty cat. This is a kiddie sized Sigg bottle. It is made from recylced aluminum and doesn't leech crap into your beverage of choice. Since I have a small tummy and cannot fit all of my liquid requirements into a single meal sitting, I can keep this in my purse to partake of throughout the day.

I do know that you came here for some knitting though. I hope to post some pics soon, but for now here are the updates. The Captain's hoodie is done to the armpits and I am just about ready to do the math for the sleeves. I think this will be cute-uh, I mean, really manly- so I will try to post the pattern here once I finish it. I also just started the left front of the equestrin blazer. More info later!

Ode to Summer

On a still morning I awake to the fluttering of leaves. A light breeze rustles the tree tops- a harbinger of more biting breezes to follow. Autumn has settled in the heartland. Once lush and verdant foliage begins to tear asunder. What was once a lush container garden lies fallow. As I mused whether a scarf was required for the days adventure, I realized we had breached the threshold. Winter is coming. My lustrous summer days are over.

Good thing I love to knit...

Working hard

Photo courtesy of dcassaa.

Time for some updates. I have been working hard this past week in preparation for my first ever invited talk! I have to get my data in better order and some results ready... I think (hope) I will make it. As a result I spent a nice relaxing weekend with my honey to decompress. We played way too much FFXII, but I don't regret it at all. This is seriously the longest game we have ever played. We are about 61 hours in and are not quite 2/3 of the way done with the game. I love it!

In knitting news, the tree jacket has moved past the neck and onto the shoulders. I think I am going to end up knitting an extra small as my gauge is a bit on the larger side. The Dream in Color yarn is just great and the color is so nice that I can't put it down. The Captain has decided that he would like raglan sleeves for the hoodie, so I will have to get the math figured for those shortly. It would be nice to get it all finished for our trip to NYC for our friend's wedding, but I shouldn't delude myself.

Tree Jacket

I have just transitioned from lurker to participant for the Sexy Knitter's Club Tree Jacket KAL. I had actually voted for the Cherie Amour pattern, which I may still knit up, but the Zephyr pattern started really piquing my interest. With no regard for time or sanity, I rushed over to my LYS and bought some lovely royal purple Dream in Color. (Truth be told I was in the store for 30 min with DIC in one hand and a burgandy Debbie Bliss Cashmerino in the other trying to will myself to make a decision. One was shiny, but the other was purple- what was a girl to do?)

I got gauge right away on my super duper bamboo interchangeable needles. I am a bit concerned that the wool may expand upon blocking, but I will just have to take that risk. This will also be my first opportunity to use my homemade dress form for sizing.

What Kind of Knitter are You?

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting and do it all the time. While finishing a piece is the plan, you still love the process, and can't imagine a day going by without giving some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation involves leaving ample space for the stash and supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn ends and you begin.http://marniemaclean.com
Take this quiz!






Quizilla |
Join

| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

I just took this quiz over at Marnie Maclean, seems that I am a Knitting Guru. Maybe I should get the Captain to address me as The Guru from now on! What results did y'all get?

Les Dents

What a lovely weekend of lazing about the house; I suppose it was more lovely for me than the Captain. He had his wisdom teeth pulled on Friday (he is fairing well), so most of the ensuing two days were spent making soup and playing Final Fantasy XII. Yes, we are game junkies, no we have no intention of cutting back. I made some almond soup, which is nice as an appetizer, but not so much as a main meal. The butternut squash soup was very nice indeed. I thought I would follow a recipe, but decided I didn't like the recipe much and so came up with my own:
1 butternut squash
2 potatoes
*some* carrots
celery salt and coriander

Boil all in pot with water. Puree the snot out of it and add pepper :-)

I did manage to get some knitting done, however. The Captain's hoodie is coming along nicely. I am up to 12" for the back and front sides. At 15" or so I need to separate the fronts from the back and start doing some math for the shoulder decreases. Most progress was made on the Santa Stocking- the end is in sight. I have a reward system going with myself to keep me on track and cruising along to completion. Thank heavens for the Knit Picks Chart Keeper- I wouldn't have made it this far without it.